Do These 3 Checks Before Buying Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche S.A. (SNSE:PEHUENCHE) For Its Upcoming Dividend

Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche S.A. (SNSE:PEHUENCHE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 4 days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is an important date to be aware of as any purchase of the stock made on or after this date might mean a late settlement that doesn't show on the record date. Thus, you can purchase Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche's shares before the 17th of January in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 21st of January.

The company's next dividend payment will be CL$43.88 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed CL$106 to shareholders. Last year's total dividend payments show that Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche has a trailing yield of 8.5% on the current share price of CLP1240. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. So we need to investigate whether Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche can afford its dividend, and if the dividend could grow.

See our latest analysis for Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche

Dividends are typically paid out of company income, so if a company pays out more than it earned, its dividend is usually at a higher risk of being cut. Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche is paying out an acceptable 70% of its profit, a common payout level among most companies. Yet cash flow is typically more important than profit for assessing dividend sustainability, so we should always check if the company generated enough cash to afford its dividend. It paid out 99% of its free cash flow in the form of dividends last year, which is outside the comfort zone for most businesses. Companies usually need cash more than they need earnings - expenses don't pay themselves - so it's not great to see it paying out so much of its cash flow.

While Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Were this to happen repeatedly, this would be a risk to Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche's ability to maintain its dividend.

Click here to see how much of its profit Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche paid out over the last 12 months.

Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing?

Companies with falling earnings are riskier for dividend shareholders. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. So we're not too excited that Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche's earnings are down 3.2% a year over the past five years.

Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche has seen its dividend decline 9.6% per annum on average over the past 10 years, which is not great to see. While it's not great that earnings and dividends per share have fallen in recent years, we're encouraged by the fact that management has trimmed the dividend rather than risk over-committing the company in a risky attempt to maintain yields to shareholders.

The Bottom Line

From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche? It's definitely not great to see earnings per share shrinking. The company paid out an acceptable percentage of its income, but an uncomfortably high percentage of its cash flow over the past year. It's not the most attractive proposition from a dividend perspective, and we'd probably give this one a miss for now.

So if you're still interested in Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. For example - Empresa Eléctrica Pehuenche has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you're in the market for dividend stocks, we recommend checking our list of top dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.